We are pleased to share the news that Visual Marketing contributors, Kenneth Carbone and Leslie Smolan partners of Carbone Smolan Agency (CSA), are recipients of the prestigious 2014 AIGA Medal, the highest honor of the design profession. Representing a broad range of design disciplines including branding, interaction design and design education, together the 2014 recipients collectively exemplify the legacy of visual communications and the impact of design.

“I am thrilled and humbled to be included in such an esteemed group of design heroes, mentors and friends,” shares Co-Founder and Chief Creative Director Ken Carbone. “It is a career milestone that recognizes decades of hard work. And, to share this moment with Leslie makes the Medal even more memorable.”

If you recall, we introduced you to Expert Laser Services last year, as well as its Destroy Your Printer contest. For the past four years, the image solutions provider has invited frustrated office workers to submit videos of them demolishing their printers. A winner was chosen based on votes.

While the brand has decided not to continue the contest, the brand wanted to play off of the success of the contest. So Nathan Dube, Chief SMM Engineer and MPS Consultant for Expert Laser Services, came up with the idea to create a digital comic around the idea of destroying printers.

“I use the videos from the contest as an “icebreaker” when meeting with prospects for the first time in my sales endeavors. I find that many of the IT managers I meet with really enjoy the videos and they always make for an outburst of laughter and disbelief which sort of diffuses the staunch nature of such business meetings and allows for the vibration of the prospect to be become more positive and relaxed, thus causing them to be more open and receptive to what I have to offer them.”

The brand took an already-successful marketing campaign (the contest) and added on to it. It also helps brand Nathan, who now is a face, not just a name. See the entire comic here.

The cover for the new book is ready. Visual Marketing, 99 Ways for Small Businesses to Market with Images and Design by David Langton and Anita Campbell is coming from Wiley Publishers in September. Wiley’s inhouse designer C. Wallace used a cover image by Penfold/iStockphoto to create the cover which is based on an abstract “eye.”

The inside pages, designed by David Langton, will feature a large image from each case study and smaller secondary images. Co-author Anita Campbell has been analyzing each case study to come up with just the right “take-away” tip that encapsulates the main marketing angle for each project.